MASS DISPERSAL OF TERRESTRIAL ORGANISMS DURING FIRST FLUSH EVENTS IN A TEMPORARY STREAM

Temporary streams expand and contract seasonally, forming a complex mosaic of aquatic, amphibic and terrestrial habitats. We studied the terrestrial arthropod fauna at the surface of the dry river bed as well as the fauna of Coarse Particulate Organic Matter (CPOM) deposits 0, 5 and 10 days after first flush events (years 2004–2006) along the Pardiela stream (SE Portugal). During the dry period, large amounts of organic material accumulated at the surface of the dry bed, colonized by abundant terrestrial arthropods (mean density: 13.3 ± 15.29 Ind gDM (Dry Mass of CPOM)). Arthropod density peaked in fresh flood deposits (mean density: 35.8 ± 33.4 Ind g DM), and subsequently decreased within time. Concurrently, the relative composition of the arthropod community changed from Day 0 to Day 10. The present results demonstrated that the dry bed of temporary streams served as a major habitat for terrestrial arthropods. During the first flush events, a mass dispersal of terrestrial arthropods, rafting on floating CPOM, occurred, subsequently forming distinct deposits along the channel margin. These deposits may constitute critical habitats, refugia and food resources for local and regional terrestrial arthropod assemblage

Faunal response to benthic and hyporheic sedimentation varies with direction of vertical hydrological exchange

1. Sedimentation and clogging of benthic and hyporheic zone substrates is increasingly being recognised as one of the greatest threats to the ecological integrity of riverine ecosystems globally. This ex-situ study examined the influence of sedimentation (benthic and hyporheic) and pattern of hydrological exchange on the vertical distribution of the freshwater shrimp Gammarus pulex within the experimental substrates of running water mesocosms. 2. Six sediment treatments representing a continuum from a clean gravel substratum through to heavy sediment loading of both benthic and hyporheic substrates were used to examine the distribution of G. pulex in relation to the direction of hydrological exchange (downwelling, upwelling and no exchange). 3. The vertical distribution of fauna varied significantly for both sediment treatment and pattern of hydrological exchange. There was a significant interaction between the two effects indicating that the effect of sedimentation varied depending on the pattern of vertical hydrological exchange

Understanding Captive-Takers Motivations, Methods and Targets

Understanding Captive-Takers Motivations, Methods and Targets is the ultimate goal in order to help those who train, manage and prevent hostage taking events which include police officers, negotiators, recovery personnel, academics and psychologists. The overall lack of literature relating to the topic of captive-taker motivations is another impetus for this dissertation. There is a dearth of scholarly material in any of the main areas of understanding kidnapping/captive-taking/hostage-taking from the perspective of the perpetrator within law enforcement, psychology, private sector or academia. It is anticipated that this research study and the data garnered from it will assist academics, psychologists, private corporations, and law enforcement agencies in developing strategies for preventing, identifying, understanding perpetrator motivations, solving crimes, and future training for situations involving captive-taking. It is clear that there is an increasing problem of captive-taking specifically in or around large urban cities close to the U.S./Mexico border. Law enforcement professionals have a need of such information and intelligence so they can learn from and understand the perpetrator, their purpose and motivations to respond accordingly to effectively combat the growing threat of captive-taking through research, education, prevention, and detection, both internationally and domestically. The assessment process began with evaluating the protocol questionnaires, interviews and the subsequent data that followed. Utilizing the hypotheses and data analysis the information was evaluated, documented and interpreted to make recommendations for future research through an individual case study format. This was identified from the results of the Pilot Project and the ensuing data retrieved from the subject interviews. The interviews were evaluated according to the Global Hostage-Taking Research and Analysis Project (GHosT-RAP) parameters and from this; case studies were performed of each subject in the study with the final individual subject evaluations highlighting patterns, trends, and significance therein. This process utilized primary and secondary data interpretation and evaluation as part of the overall dissertation process. It was apparent from the captive-taker interviews that the criminal captive-taker is anti-social, lacking in opportunities to succeed, raised or taught by criminals, associated with criminals, had criminal tendencies, somewhat mentally challenged, had substance abuse issues, wanted to be a criminal, or forced into criminality, had experienced a traumatic event, had a physiological chemical imbalance and more importantly, came from a dysfunctional background. As exploratory research, this dissertation was conducted to describe the motivations of captive-takers, to determine and assist future responses by law enforcement, psychologists, and academics. A general review of the existing literature indicates that there is an increasing problem of captive-taking specifically along the U.S. / Mexico border. Mindful that there is possible encroachment from individuals within Mexico with regards to captive-taking, making it a sensitive bureaucratic issue. The majority of individuals that were taken captive in the United States came from Phoenix, Arizona or San Diego, California and were involved in some way with illegal border crossings, human smuggling, kidnapping or the inexorable narcotics business. Along with captive-taking, increasing violence has consumed the southwest border in recent years which includes the metropolitan area of Phoenix, Arizona. With this said, this study was conducted primarily in the qualitative research tradition, using the grounded theory method proposed by Strauss and Corbin (1998). The study involved the initiation of interviews during a pilot test of the protocol questionnaires (instruments) of captive-taker subjects who were incarcerated. The pilot test was initiated and conducted by members of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Behavioral Science Unit (BSU), and other federal agencies, state, and local law enforcement personnel, as interviewers, from the different agencies at a correctional facility in the greater Phoenix, Arizona area. This dissertation and subsequent research will continue to locate, identify and interview captive-takers with the eventual goal of having a large sample size of subjects to better understand captive-taking in order to help all those involved in the prevention of this phenomenon. Prevention would constitute pre, during and post captive-taking scenarios. Each case study was the direct result of the interviews, which highlighted interesting paradigms of motivations, reasoning, circumstance and geographical significance. Moreover, the motivations of the primary participants concerning captive-taking was the primary focus of this dissertation. A demographic questionnaire and personality assessment instruments (Appendix A) were administered to participants in order to make a baseline point of reference for the case studies

The effect of sunlight on decoration placement and mating success in male satin bowerbirds

Males of some bird species choose sunlit display sites to enhance their visual signal. Satin bowerbird (Ptilonorhynchus violaceus) males place colored decorations on their bower platform as part of their courtship display. Little is known about how illumination affects the attractiveness of decorations. We analyzed photographs to quantify the amount of direct illumination on the bower and the number of blue decorations in sunlight. We found that the proportion of sunlight on the entire bower platform during peak female visitation periods is correlated with male mating success. The North platform, where decorations are concentrated, was proportionately more illuminated than the South platform. Males placed decorations in more sunlit areas on the platform and returned moved blue decorations to their original locations, suggesting that males actively place blue decorations in sunlit areas. This is the first study to demonstrate that greater illumination in off-body displays may be important for attracting females

Muscular Hypertrophy of the Pylorus in Infancy

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Macroinvertebrate seedbank composition in relation to antecedent duration of drying and multiple wet-dry cycles in a temporary stream

1. The aquatic invertebrate ‘seedbank’ comprises life stages that remain viable in the bed sediments of temporary freshwaters during dry phases. This seedbank promotes persistence of temporary-stream macroinvertebrates, but how its inhabitants respond to extended dry phases or repeated transitions between wet and dry phases remains unknown. 2. We rehydrated samples collected from the dry bed of a temperate-zone stream during a supra-seasonal drought, to examine the seedbank assemblage. Samples were first collected in autumn, from 12 sites along the ephemeral (4 sites), intermittent (2) and near-perennial (6) reaches, which had been dry for up to 8 months. Our first hypothesis was that assemblage composition would be related to the dry-phase duration preceding sampling, with longer dry phases reducing abundance and richness. 3. We revisited the same sites in three subsequent seasons, collecting and rehydrating sediments from all dry sites: five sites in early spring, three in late spring and four in late summer. Unpredictable flow resumption and redrying occurred between sampling dates. Our second hypothesis was that repeated wet-dry cycles would not degrade the assemblage because temporary-stream taxa would be adapted to fluctuating hydrological conditions. 4. Multiple individuals of only Chironomidae, Oligochaeta and Pisidium were present at sites that experienced the longest dry phases, providing some support for our first hypothesis. An additional 21 taxa were recorded across the remaining (shorter dry phase) sites in autumn, indicating that such sites act as refuges and potential recolonist sources following flow resumptions. 5. Although several insect orders first recorded in early spring were absent in later seasons, taxon-specific life cycles indicated that these absences were probably seasonal and not due to repeated wet-dry cycles. 6. We recorded 38 taxa in total, highlighting the seedbank as a dry-phase resistance mechanism for many temporary-stream macroinvertebrates. Our results also suggest that seedbank diversity may be threatened by increases in drought extent and duration

The Present Status of the Transmissibility of Bovine Tuberculosisas Illustrated by Infants and Young Children.

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Excision of the Tonsils for Hypertrophy With Recurring Tonsillitis.: A Modified Instrument and the Technique of Its Use.

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